Comfort
by Darth Tromeros
Summary: Luke comes to comfort Leia after the carbonite freezing.  First Luke and Leia story I've written.


The vast emptiness in space was nothing compared to her feelings. Her heart ached, longing for him back, wondering if she would even be able to see him again or not. Inside, her anger blazed even with gallons of tears, turmoil thrashing throughout her mind.

Foolish, foolish girl, she scolded herself. Why had she been so snappy? Why had she been so scared when he held her hands, when he softly spoke to her? When he teased her, why had she been so bothered?

Now, he was gone. Had she made her point across to him? Did he love her back? All these questions swam in her head, overwhelming her. She couldn't answer any of these; no one could. The only way she could express herself was by crying. She cried silently, making sure no one saw her. After all she and him weren't supposed to—well, _like _each other. Unless it was obvious they had "chemistry", as the Rebels put it. She grimaced, trying hard to deny that they were right, but it only seemed to insult his memory even more.

"It's not like he's dead," a soft voice said.

Leia spun around to see Luke leaning against the wall. She wiped her left eye, saying, "Wha—what makes you say that?"

"You're crying." He started walking towards her.

"No I'm not!" she exclaimed defiantly.

"Leia," he said, putting an arm around her. She decided to give up, a stray tear trickling down her cheek.

"I miss him." She stifled a sob as her eyes closed painfully.

"Don't we all?" he asked gently.

It was much different talking to Luke than _him_. If _he _was in a good mood, _he _would've teased her and started a fight. If _he _was in a more refined mood, _he _would've comforted her.

The only thing was, though, she was crying because of _him._

Luke's arm was wrapped around her back. Not one noise came out of him as tears plopped onto the table in front of them. His other arm came to her face, wiping her tears away.

"He was annoying," Leia started again. "He was arrogant and conceited and a mercenary." She finally found her vanishing bravery and looked up at Luke. "He didn't care about anything than that bucket of bolts he caters too day and night." Luke smiled weakly at her, but the smiles were wiped off their faces as she continued on with her face looking down again.

"At the same time though, I sort of… I don't know," she said softly.

"Liked it?" Luke helped.

"I… I guess that's it," she said, looking back up at him. Her eyes were red again, causing her depressed irises to shine brightly. "He was almost entertaining. The way he fought back, even under all my anger, made me smile. When he called me 'princess' and 'sweetheart' and the rest of those names, I—it made me blush on the inside. Even though it annoyed the life out of me, I sorta' liked it." The tears streaked down in a steady stream, dropping down to form puddles on the table for fingertips to run through.

"His eyes when he teased me had this glimmer—a pesky, pompous, mischievous glimmer that drove me bonkers, but at the same time made me—happy, I guess. Seeing him being such a child after he had no childhood…." Sniffing, another tear tumbled away from the tip of her chin. Silence was the only other ting in the room. Luke didn't say anything, but waited to hear if she had anything more.

"You don't know this, but we—we kissed." She gave a pain-stricken laugh. "He snuck up on me while I was working on his piece of junk that he flies in. He offered to help me, but I wouldn't let him. And on thing led to another, and somehow I was pressed against the controls, his arms gripping my shoulders, his lips crushed against mine. He told me I was trembling. I suppose I was. I'm just surprised he didn't hear my heart beating as loud as it was in my ears." Her voice cracked, more tears falling through her eyelids.

It seemed the appropriate time for Luke to do something, so he pulled her in closer, letting her lay her head on his chest and cry. That's all she did. Luke stayed silent still, listening to her quiet sobs, knowing she needed someone. But he knew he needed to become a Jedi.

He couldn't tell her he was leaving.

Not yet.


End file.
